MHS teachers arrested after fight breaks out at crab feed

Two Manteca High School teachers were arrested early Sunday morning after kicking off a fight at the 44th annual Nile Garden crab feed at the MRPS Hall.

Sean Hogan, 38, and Joshua Farris, 31, were both taken into custody after Manteca Police arrived and determined that the altercation was started and escalated by the two men. Hogan, who according to the police report was intoxicated, allegedly sat on a take-out bag that a woman had placed on the curb and then tried to hug the woman after apologizing.

She pushed him away, and when her husband got involved, witnesses said that Hogan started throwing punches. The woman then threw her phone at Hogan in an attempt to stop him.

Hogan then, according to the report, turned around and punched the woman in the face. He was taken into custody by event security and was held until Manteca Police Department units arrived. He was charged with battery, cited and released.

Farris was arrested for public intoxication after he tried to intervene. He was booked and then released.

Both men are teachers at Manteca High School. Hogan, a health and physical education teacher, served as the sophomore football coach. He just recently announced that he’d be walking away from the top spot of Manteca High’s track program. Farris, who has taught history and is credentialed to teach special education, is an assistant coach on the sophomore football team.

They will likely appear before a Superior Court judge this week.

Any discipline outside of the court system will likely be handled by Manteca Unified in-house.

“In general, pending the results of a police investigation and consequent district notification for misdemeanor charges brought against any district employees for a similar situation, the district would conduct an investigation to determine if any such unlawful action was performed while serving in the capacity of their employment,” noted MUSD Deputy Superintendent Clark Burke. “ In turn, the district would need to determine if any such unlawful action was in violation of that employment or if the employees were negligent with their professional responsibilities. None of which has yet to occur in this situation. In any case, the district’s first concern is for the safety of its students, its employees, and the safety of the community at large. As a member of the community, the district wants to support and encourage healthy and safe community activities.”

According to Manteca Police Sergeant Jodie Estarziau, while the department does report incidents involving teachers to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, she said that something like this wouldn’t likely warrant that kind of a response.

Alcohol, she said, seemed to play a major role in the incident.

In order for the group to investigate a teacher’s credential and dole out disciplinary action, a report has to be filed by a school district or a designated supervisory board. In severe cases, of which Manteca Unified has had in the past, a teacher’s credential can be revoked.